Impact of outdoor sports on health
UNIVERSITY OF TARTU
FACULTY OF EXERCISE AND SPORTS SCIENCES
Pablo Barrera Espada
IMPACT
OF OUTDOOR SPORTS
ON HEALTH
Bachelor thesis
Physical Education and Sports
Supervisor: A.Koka PhD
Tartu 2013
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Impact of outdoor sports on health
Contents
INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................3
1. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ..................................................................................................................4
1.1. DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION OF OUTDOOR SPORTS .........................................................4
1.2. THE IMPACT OF OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES ON HEALTH ..................................................................7
1.2.1. Perception of vitality after exercise in outdoor environments ...........................................8
1.2.2. Restorative effects of outdoor environments in the state of anxiety ............................... 11
1.2.3. Benefits of outdoor sports practice on mental healt ....................................................... 13
1.2.4. Influence of exposure to natural environments in the functioning of the sympathetic
nervous ..................................................................................................................................... 14
1.2.5. The importance of exposure to natural environments .................................................... 15
1.3. HEALTH BENEFIT COMPARATIVE BETWEEN OUTDOOR AND INDOOR SPORTS......................... 17
1.3.1. Benefits of indoor exercise on health ............................................................................. 17
1.3.2. Evidence of physical and psychological benefits in the practice of physical activities in
outdoor environments .............................................................................................................. 18
1.4. ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS OF OUTDOOR SPORTS .................................................................. 22
1.4.1. Skin problems derived from the exposure to outdoor environments ............................... 23
1.5. BENEFITS OF OUTDOOR EXERCISE ON CHILDREN ................................................................... 26
1.5.1. Different patologies and benefits of contact with outdoor environments for children ..... 27
2. SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................... 30
DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION OF OUTDOOR SPORTS .............................................................. 30
THE IMPACT OF OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES ON HEALTH ....................................................................... 30
HEALTH BENEFIT COMPARATIVE BETWEEN OUTDOOR AND INDOOR SPORTS ............................... 31
ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS OF OUTDOOR SPORTS ......................................................................... 31
BENEFITS OF OUTDOOR EXERCISE ON CHILDREN .......................................................................... 31
3. REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................. 32
4. RESÜMEE ...................................................................................................................................... 35
VÄLISPORDI MÕJU TERVISELE ....................................................................................................... 35
VÄLISPORDI DEFINITSIOON JA KLASSIFIKATSIOON ......................................................................... 35
VÄLI- JA SISESPORDI MÕJU TERVISELE ........................................................................................... 36
VÄLISPORDI KAHJULIK MÕJU TERVISELE ........................................................................................ 36
VÄLISPORDI KASU LASTELE ............................................................................................................ 36
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Impact of outdoor sports on health
INTRODUCTION
In the last 20 years, people were working on new approaches aimed at improving the
citizenship lifestyle, relating them to natural environmentsand everything that
surrounds.
This new trend, has made possible the creation of alternative places where humans can
fin their identity and interact with the environment.
The contemporany society and the new trends of thought have been sensitize with the
relation between human and nature, creating new social structures and awareness
regarding the surrounding environment.
Another important aspect of society is the school education, where professors have the
duty to educate and sensitize the children into this new lifestyle, with the aim of
improve their surrondings and quality of life. The education must incorporate
approaches that help to sensitize the pupils with the surronding environment and
enhance their knowledge about it, thus creating a greater integration with it.
The society have to awareness of the importance of natural environments and acquire
mechanisms and estrategies for its understanding, appreciation and enjoyment.
Therefore, the education and actions we take in natural environments should be
meaningful for the pupils. They must have respect, care and protection all around them.
In conclusion, the main purpose of this Bachelor thesis was to analyze the relationship of
people with natural environments and how it can improve the overall health.
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Impact of outdoor sports on health
1. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
1.1. DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION OF OUTDOOR SPORTS
Some Spanish authors proposed differents definitions of outdoor sports and the closest
one to this research is Acuña’s (Acuña, 1991) . Outdoor sports are considered every
sports that are usually practice in a wild or semi-wild area. These sports are very
adaptable to every kind of persons, ages, physical level and technique, with the goal of
improving the people life quality, health, family and social relationships. We usually
practice outdoor sports in our leisure time and the main place to practice them is in the
wild or semi-wild area, but it is possible to practice them in an urban area as well
(Acuña, 1991).
Several authors have clasiffied these kind of sports for AFMN (Actividades Fisicas en el
Medio Natural – Physical Activities in the Environment) in different ways as well (Acuña,
1991, 1994; Funollet, 1995; Aguado, 2001; Igual, 2005):
Acuña (1991) for instance, focused in his classification of outdoor sports upon the
environment and techniques we can use while doing it. The classification is divided in
three parts, namely promotional activities, free activities and organized activities.In
terms of promotional activities , the main goal of these kind of activities is to get as much
participants as possible, it is necessary the presence of a promoter, for example:
excursions, ecological marches, visit to natural area. Free activities promote the free use
of natural resources, there is not necessary the presence of a monitor but it is necessary
to have a good knowledge of these resources, for example: ecological, cycling and
hikking routes. Organized activities, for its development it is necessary the presence of a
monitor (person who organize, control and guide groups in the activity) and a good
planning. Organized activities themselves are classified according to the technical
requirement: activities in nature, complementary activities, and adventure sports in
nature. The activities in nature comprise activities like hiking, camping, and games in
the nature. The complementary activities, there are activities which help the practice of
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Impact of outdoor sports on health
other, like first aid techniques. Finally, adventure sports in nature which is classificated
in water sports (canoeing, rowing, sailing), land sport (climbing, alpinism, caving) and
air sports (paragliding, hang-glider, air balloon).
Funollet (1995) focused in his classification of outdoor sports upon the practicing,
material, and practice space. Practicing means the person who participate in the activity
and the activity can be individual (the person is alone), imbricated (small group in which
every movement is conditioned by the partner, for example k2 kayac) or in groups
(there are group of more than 3 or 4 people). Material or the energy means the driving
fource the participant use while doping the activity. It can be generated (the action is
caused by the practising, for example hikking) or self-generated (the action is caused by
another variable, for example animals, gravitational, hydraulic, wind, solar and motor).
Space means the environment, where the activity takes place and it can be in the sea,
river, lake, rock zone, cave, zone with flora, dessert, mountains higher than 3000 m and
spaces modified by humans.
Aguado (2001) focused in his classification of outdoor sports, similary with Funollet
(1995), upon the environment where the activities are practiced. Acording to Aguado
(2001), non-specific activities, don’t need specific space to practice them, for example
games in a park. Specific activities, on the other hand, are activities which need a special
and natural environment to practice them and are clasificated in land sports (e.g.,
cycling, climbing, hikking), water sports (e.g., canoeing, scuba-diving, windsurfing) and
air sports (e.g., paragliding, hang-glider). Aguado (2001) distinguishes also
complementary activities which are basic knowleges (e.g., camping, orientation, knots or
basic notions of survival) in order to be able to practise othe more specific activities.
Sánchez Igual (2005) focused in his classification of outdoor sports upon the surface
where it’s practiced. It was classificated in sporting activities done in mountain, water
and air. The category of mountain sports was divided into, (1)low mountain (less than
1000 m), where the most common activities are climbing, hikking and cycling, (2)
medium mountain (1000-2000 m), where the activities that usually are practised are
mountain cycling and camping, and (3) high mountain (more than 2000 m), where the
sports practised are more extreme and it is necesary to have a good physical condition
to practice those (e.g., climbing, skiing and alpinism). Water sports, can be practised in
the sea (e.g., kitesurfing, scuba-diving, sailing, windsurfing), river (canoeing, rowing,
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Impact of outdoor sports on health
rafting) and lakes (water skiing, sailing). Finally, air sports, for these sports it is necesary
the use of external devices (e.g., paragliding, hang-glider, air balloon).
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Impact of outdoor sports on health
1.2. THE IMPACT OF OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES ON HEALTH
This is a sentence took from a poem (John Muir, 1901 – p.56) that can explain in some
words the main meaning of this research and it says textually: ‘‘Climb the mountains and
get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The
winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy’’ (John Muir,
1901, via Ryan et al., 2010).
It is well-known that the practise of sport reports health and physological benefits, just
to have contact with green spaces can be psychologically and physiologically restorative,
reducing blood pressure and stress levels and helping patients to recover faster after a
surgical intervetion. So it is very important how much time do we spend in contact with
nature, because the more time we spend, the more benefits we would obtain (Mitchell &
Popham, 2008).
Nature environments, like favorale places have physiological effects on patients with
allergies or respiratory diseases. The aroma of the plants, temperature, humidity, light
intensity, wind, oxygen concentration and exercise performed within this environment
are these kind of favorale factors that can improve the quality of life of people. For these
reasons, Yamaguchi et al. (2006) postulated that the physiological effects of forest-air
bathing and walking as one health-promoting activity could be used as preventive
medicine (Yamaguchi et al., 2006).
There is an also interrelation between green spaces and benefits on mental health and
regular engagement, in turn, these is related with longevity and decreased risk of mental
ill-health. High levels of self-esteem are associated with healthy behaviors, such as
healthy eating, participating in physical activities, not smoking, and lower suicide risks
(Barton & Pretty, 2010). According to this statement, Thompson Coon et al. (2010)
believed that spending time participating in outdoor activities (e.g., gardening,
conservation work, bird watching, rockpool rambles, and gentle to vigorous sporting
activities in natural environments) represents an important means of ensuring that
people become more active“.
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Impact of outdoor sports on health
Recognising the contribution of natural ecosystems to human population health may
contribute to addressing problems associated with inactivity, obesity, mental ill-health,
and other chronic diseases. Many of these urgent health challenges are also connected to
sedentary and indoor lifestyles. At present, more than half of the world’s population live
in urban environments and don’t have too much contact with nature, so some of the
substantial mental health challenges facing society and physical challenges arising from
modern diets and sedentary lifestyles could be addressed by increased forms of activity
in green places. For example, employers could encourage staff in stressful workplaces to
take a short walk at lunchtime in the nearest park to improve mental health, which may
in turn affect productivity (Barton & Pretty, 2010).
Luckily, the world’s mentality seems that is changing and, day by day, some movements
are increasing and working to reconnect people with nature. For example, programs
such as the Green Gym and the Blue Gym attempt to motivate people to spend more time
being active in natural environments (Thompson Coon et al., 2010).
In contrast, living in urban environments can induce the appearance of different
diseases such as chronic fatigue syndrome. Subjects have to be treated appropriately to
prevent the development of chronic fatigue system due the increased of fatigue and
stress (Yamaguchi et al.,2006).
1.2.1. Perception of vitality after exercise in outdoor environments
Ryan et al. (2010) tried to find a correlation between being in a nature environment and
sense of vitality. Ryan et al. (2010) conducted five studies to get some results.
In their study 1, Ryan et al. (2010) created a total of 64 vignettes with different
combinations of variables: setting (indoor / outdoor), social interaction (alone / with
others) and physical activity (active / sedentary) and they asked people to imagine
themselves in these situations and say what is he/she felt in that moment. The items
that the authors of the research used to measure the variables were (“I feel alive an
vital“ / “I have energy and spirit“ / “I don’t feel very energetic“ / “I feel alert and awake“
/ “I look forward for each new day“ / “I feel energized“ / “I feel so alive and I just want to
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Impact of outdoor sports on health
burst“). The 171 Participants (123 females / 48 males; average age of 20.16 years old)
responded on aLikert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly
agree), conffesing how they felt in this concrete moment. The research found that
people reported higher levels of vitality when they are outside, socializing with others
and practising physical activity. Another finding was that in sedentary vignettes,
participants reported considerably higher vitality when they are socializing than when
they are alone.
In my opinion, outdoor experiences reported sense of vitality by itself, but this positive
feeling will be improved if we add social relations and physical activity as well.
In their study 2, Ryan et al. (2010) compared the benefits of an indoor walk and an
outdoor walk. The sample comprised of 80 participants (66 females / 14 males; average
age of 20 years old) who were randomly assigned to a walk in one of two environments.
Prior to the eksperiment the participants, had to fill the Subjective Vitality scale and
ratings of current vitality were collected after the experiment. The results indicate that
participants who did outdoor walk reported a greater change in vitality compared to
participants who did indoor walk.
In their study 3, the potential vitalizing effects of natural environmnets on attention,
interest, positive mood, and benefits to health was examined (Ryan et al., 2010). They
used a set of photographic images depicting either natural outdoor settings or scenes of
constructed or built environments and a recorded script designed to orient the
participants to the experience. Participants were 97 young people (70 females / 27
males) and the average age was 20 years old (age ranged from 19 to 22 years). Ryan et
al. (2010) found some increase in participants’ vitality in who were exposed to natural
image, relative to some decrease in vitality among participants who watched building
slides.
The study 4 by Ryan et al. (2010) made a survey to report on outdoors, social, or
physical activities and daily vitality of a complete day-end. The 138 students (41 males /
97 females; average age of 20 years old) were assessed during 14 days, having to
complete, each evening before going to sleep, a trait version of the seven-item Subjective
Vitality scale, a survey that asked participants to report on outdoors, social, physical
activities, daily vitality throughout the day (Ryan & Frederick, 1997, Ryan et al., 2010).
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Impact of outdoor sports on health
Participants had to respond to daily time outside, daily exercise and daily social
interaction. They were asked if they spent more than 20 minutes or not doing these daily
actions, they only had to answer “yes“ or “no“ and in most of the cases the result was
positive.The results showed that spending a minimum of 20 minutes outside, practising
exercise and with social interaction, participants began to get benefits (Ryan et al.,
2010).
Ryan et al. (2010) concluded that being outdoors was vitalizing in large part because of
the presence of nature.
In their study 5, Ryan et al. (2010) tested for the potential mediating effects of natural
elements on vitality. They measured 51 students (43 famales / 8 males; average age of
20 years old) 4-day-experience assesing different variables: Trait of subjective vitality,
experience-level measures, presence of others, physical activity, outdoor, nature
experince measures and state vitality. Participants were tested six times per day,
between the hours of 10 am and 10 pm and they had to complete a questionaire each
day, took from a previous study (signal-contingent form) (Wheeler & Reis, 1991, via
Ryan et al., 2010).
In terms of trait of subjective vitality, Ryan et al. (2010) used four points of the SVS
(Subjective Vitality Scale) took from a previous research of Ryan & Frederick (1997) to
measure trait-level energy and aliveness. Experience-level measures were assesed just
asked for their “diary current experiences“. For presence of others, participants were
asked for the amount of people they have interected during each experience. Physical
activity was measured by assessing physical activity level during the experience with the
following scale: from sitting=low (1) to running=heavy (5). In terms of outdoors,
participants had to answer questions about where the experiences took place (indoor /
outdoor), understanding by indoor, experiences inside buildings or traavel inside
vehicles, and for outdoor, every places out of buildings or close places. In the case of
nature experience measures, the participants received +1 was given to every natural
experience, including thoughts on nature as well and a score of -1 to non-natural
experience. Finally, for state vitality, the authors used the same scale as the
measurement of trait of subjective vitality (Subjective Vitality Scale) to check how the
participants felt in this moment. The only finding remarkable was that individuals were
more vitalized when they were exposed to more nature (Ryan et al., 2010).
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Impact of outdoor sports on health
In my opinion, this research show us that the exposition of nature report a lots of
benefits to the state of vitality, but even more if we join this with physical and social
activity.
1.2.2. Restorative effects of outdoor environments in the state of anxiety
This research conducted by Mackay et al. (2010) looks for correlations between the
practice of sport and the improvement of the general health. The authors of this
research proposed that combining physical exercise and natural environments, then, it
would offer the prospect of potentially greater benefits than either undertaken in
isolation (Mackay et al., 2010).
There are two theories which explain restorative environments (Hartig, 2004, via
Mackay et al., 2010): psychophysiological stress recovery theory (Ulrich et al. 1991, via
Mackay et al., 2010), which postulates that restoration occurs when scenes elicit feelings
of interest and positive affects replace negatiive affects, and attention restoration theory
(Kaplan, 2001b; Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989, via Mackay et al., 2010) which says that
restorative environments facilitate to recover from directed attention fatigue.
According to Pretty (2004) there are three different levels of engagement with nature
(Pretty,2004, via Mackay et al., 2010): viewing nature; being in the presence of nature;
and active participation and involvement with nature. Each level is considered to play a
different role in understanding the psychological effects of outdoor exercise, in other
words “green exercise“. Specifically, as for viewing nature (Ulrich, 1986, via Mackay et
al., 2010), have proved the recover benefits of being in a hospital room with a view of
nature compared to not häving. In terms of the presence of nature (Henderson-Wilson,
2005, via Mackay et al., 2010) have demostrated that residential with better access to
natural environments are associated to better quality of life. Finally, active participation
and involvement with nature is well recognised as a restorative activity (Hartig, 2006,
Kaplan, 1973; via Mackay et al., 2010). According to Mejia (2010), a positive nature
experience, increase the postivite effects of exercise.
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Impact of outdoor sports on health
Research have demostrated that exercise of 15-30 min, three times per week have been
recommended for physical and psychological benefits (Mackay et al., 2010).
There is no definitive answer about the optimal intensity of exercise, but the most
reliable benefits appear to be associated with moderate intensity exercise. The research
tends to support the notion that acute bouts of aerobic exercise are effective in reducing
state-anxiety levels and they discovered that the only significant moderating variable is
exercise duration (Mackay et al.,2010).
Several researches have used the term “Green exercise“ meaning all the activities people
practice in vegetated areas (parks, open places, playgrounds) (Mackay et al., 2010).
Mackay and collegues (Mackay et al., 2010) assessed 100 people (59 males / 41 females)
aged between 20 and 81 years old, doing 20-min-exercise on a treadmill while they were
viewing displayed on a screen. They made four gropus which were exposed to different
images: rural pleasant images (countryside with trees and water), rural unpleasant
image (countryside with abandoned car), urban pleasant images (tall buildings with sky
reflected in water) and urban unpleasant images (city scene with broken windows and
graffiti). Before the experiment, participants were subjected to a pre-tests that included
the “State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults (STAI)”, in which they had to value how
they felt at the moment in relation to apprehension, tension, nervousness, and worry.
Also their blood pressure was taken as a part of pre-test. After the exercise, they were
subjected to another tests (post-test), using the Borg Scale with 15-point rating scale
ranges from (6) “No Exertion At All” to (20) “Maximal Exertion”. Also), participants were
asked to indicate on a and the 10-point Likert scale (1 = “100% artificial; 0% natural” to
10 = “0% artificial; 100% natural”) the degree to which they perceived the exercise
environment was artificial or natural. The STAI was used after the exercise as well to
measure a state-anxiety post-exercise. The results of this research showed that
reductions in anxiety were reported by participants who were subjected of being in a
more natural exercise environments. Exercise duration and intensity were not linearly
related to changes in state anxiety (Mackay et al., 2010).
In my opinion, this research showed some benefits because of the exposure of natural
environments and a logical and determined duration of exercise, but there is no still
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Impact of outdoor sports on health
enough information to be sure about other variables like exercise intensity and
restoration capability.
1.2.3. Benefits of outdoor sports practice on mental healt
(Barton & Pretty (2010) meta-analysis) included ten studies that measure self-esteem
and mood in total of 1252 participants from United Kingdom pre- and post-activity (i.e.,
an acute exposure of green exercise) or intervention and compared them. The
Rosenberg Self- Esteem Scale (RSE) that is a most widely used instrument to assess selfesteem was used to measure self-esteem in those studies and Profile of Mood States
(POMS) was used to measure changes in mood. There were improvements in both selfesteem and mood, but the effect size was higher for mood (Barton & Pretty, 2010).
To investigate whether the intervention effect varied with differing cohorts, Barton &
Pretty (2010) made some subgroups divided by the following variables: Exposure
duration (5 min / 10-60 min / half-day / whole day); Exercise intensity (low / moderate
/ vigorous); Type of green space (urban green / countryside / forest / waterside /
wilderness); Gender (male / female); Age (<30 / 31-50 / 51-70 / >70); and Starting
health status (healthy / with existing mental health problems).
In terms of exposure duration, the greatest changes ins elf-esteem and mood were
evident for least duration 5 min of activity and become lower for 10-60 min and half-day
activities and the hange ins self-esteem and mood increased again for the whole day
activities (activities that are taken place for the whole day). This means that there is an
immediate effect obtained from the start of green exercise, like Mejia (2010) says “you
get a very substancial benefit from the first five minutes“. The positive effect of green
exercises diminished a litte bit when the exposure reached for the duration of half a day,
but the whole day practising exercise gets people to another peak of benefit (Barton &
Pretty, 2010).
The greatest change in self-esteem starts with light exercise intensity but decreases
when the intensity grows up. As for hanges in mood, the response are equally with low
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Impact of outdoor sports on health
and vigorous exercise intensity and declining to the lowest for moderaate exercise
intensity (Barton & Pretty, 2010).
Different types of green spaces reported the greatest changes in mood and self-esteem
and spaces with waterside show the largest effect size, so spending time near waterside
will give a greater benefit.
Both gender groups obtained benefits, so there was no significant differences between
gender in hanges in self-esteem and mood while exercising outdoor (Barton & Pretty,
2010).
In terms of age, the greatest change was found for the youngest age group in self-esteem.
Moreover, mood shows an inverted U-curve with greatest changes in the mid-age
groups, so in younger and older groups the mood decreases (Barton & Pretty, 2010).
According to the results of meta-analysis of Barton and Pretty (2010), the people with
mental health problems as a starting health status obtained more benefits in changes in
their self-esteem than people who reported their starting health status as good. In the
case of changes in mood, both of two groups got almost the same benefits (Barton &
Pretty, 2010).
In conclusion, findings of this meta-analysis suggests that people who are able to
undertake regular, short-duration physical activity in green space, they will accrue
health benefits (Barton & Pretty, 2010).
1.2.4.
Influence of exposure to natural environments in the functioning of the
sympathetic nervous
Yamaguchi et al. (2006) investigated the salivary amylase activity in different
environments, urban and nature, following the investigation of Chatterton et al. which
demonstrated that the salivary amylase activity was under the influence of the
sympathetic nervous system (Chatterton et al., 2000; via Yamaguchi et al., 2006).
Through ‘Shinrin-yoku’ technique that is a ‘forest-air bathing and walking’, in which
people attempt to spend a short period of time in a forest environment and performing
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Impact of outdoor sports on health
certain recreational activities including exercise, Yamaguchi et al. (2006) tested 15
healthy young male university students, taking measures of salivary amylase activity
after different activities in two environments. The subjects were hosted in a hotel for 3
days, they were divided into two groups (forest / urban) and the experimental
environmets were switched each day. The schedule of the day of the experiment was as
following: (wake up at 6.00 am / breakfast at 7.30 – 8.30 am / lunch at 12.30 – 13.30 pm
/ dinner at 19.00 – 20.00 pm / bed time at 23.00 pm). The salivary amylase activity was
measured six times in the day (after wake up at 7.00 am / before walking at 11.05 am /
after walking at 11.25 am / before sitting and watching at 14.35 pm / after sitting and
watching at 14.55 pm / before dinner at 18.30 pm)
The results showed that the lowest range of salivary amylase activity was after walking
and the highest was before bed time. According to Yamagochi et al. (2006) the reason for
that is probably because the participants were students and they were used to go to bed
later and this time is usually for them the most active moment of the day.
Another important finding was the comparison of salivary amylase activity between
both environments, natural and urban environment. Yamagochi et al. (2006) found that
the group which was exposed to nature showed 18.8% lower measure of salivary
amylase activity after exercise than the group exposed to the urban environment.
In conclusion, salivary amylase activity measure is a good indicator to evaluate changes
in sympathetic nervous activity over time and natural environments are the best places
to experience physical and psychological improvement because people experienced
much less environment-derived stress (Yamagochi et al, 2006).
1.2.5. The importance of exposure to natural environments
Mitchell & Popham (2008) research compares the different health inequalities
depending on the exposure of time to nature. It also compares the socioeconomic status
with greater exposure range to nature. They expected that people with low
socioeconomic status are less likely to exercise and they usually have more difficulties in
accessing to natural environment because of the environments in which they live are
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Impact of outdoor sports on health
less conductive to it. The latter authors also hipothesized that poverty causes
physiological reponses to the stress and this problem could be harder in people who has
less exposure time to nature, causing increased risk of varius diseases and notably heart
disease. More deprived populations with access to green space might plausibly have
some protection from the biological effects of their poverty-related stress, decreasing
their mortality rates compared with those without access to green space.
Basically, Mitchell & Popham (2008) sought to examine the relations between exposure
to green spaces and the different causes of mortality among the population who lived in
different areas 2001 and 2005.
The total study population was 40813236, with 366348 deaths and the authors
excluded people older than retirement, because in these ages there are no so much
inequalities of deaths than in younger ages.
The results of this research showed that incidences of mortality were lower in
populations which lived in green areas, besides they would experienced a decreased in
rates for all-cause and circulatory mortality. It was estimated that population with the
highest exposure to green spaces saves 1328 lives per year. The data also showed that
green spaces might affect health by inducing beneficial physical activity, ameliorating
the response to stress, reducing smoking rates, and thus rates of lung cancer. The
quality and quantity of access to natural environments is strongly associated with the
socioeconomic position of individuals (Mitchell & Popham, 2008).
Finally, another important point is the quality of air, because air pollution is one the
most important causes of respiratory and cardivascular morbidity in the world, so the
more exposure to natural environments, the more quality of life we will have and it is
warranty that the population will have less health diseases (Mitchell & Popham, 2008).
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Impact of outdoor sports on health
1.3. HEALTH BENEFIT COMPARATIVE BETWEEN OUTDOOR AND INDOOR
SPORTS
People choose their exercise environment expecting enhanced physical and mental
fitness and better overall health (Bouchard et al., 2007; Lampretch et al., 2008, via Hug
et al., 2009) and awating for meet new people and enjoy the company of friends (Carron
et al., 1996; Ball et al., 2001; Lampretch et al., 2008, via Hut et al., 2009). They also
consider the barriers to participation, like the accesibility of facilities close to home,
personal safety, the season, and weather are all relevant for physical activity (e.g.,
Humpel et al., 2002; Titze et al., 2005; Tucker and Gilliland, 2007; Tucker et al., 2009, via
Hug et al., 2009).
1.3.1. Benefits of indoor exercise on health
Hug et al. (2009) defined indoor exercise as kind of activities perfomed in an enclosed
room, for example, a fitness centre, sport hall, and indoor swimming pool.
Hug et al. (2009) conducted a one-year survey, in which 319 members of different
fitness centres of Zurich were surveyed after they had concluded their exercise session.
The survey assessed the 10 following variables to get the prediction of exercise
frequency in both indoor and outdoor exercise environments: gender, age, type of
education, expected health benefits, expected social benefits, personal time barriers,
being away, fascination, coherence, and compatibility. The authors also used some items
to classificate and clarified some terms like, being away (‘‘It is an escape experience’’),
fascination (‘‘There is much to explore and discover here’’; ‘‘My attention is drawn to
many interesting things’’), coherence (‘‘It is chaotic here’’; ‘‘There is too much going
on’’), compatibility (‘‘I can do things I like here’’; ‘‘Being here suits my personality’’) (Hug
et al., 2009).
Results scored that participants showed more exercise frecuency in indoor
environments than in outdoor environments (exercising roughly 1–3 times each week
17
Impact of outdoor sports on health
indoors and one time outdoors in a 30-day study), had greater expectations of social
benefits with exercise indoors, coherence and compatibility appeared to hold at fairly
high levels in the indoor settings, and in terms of benefits on health, people experiment
increased when participe in indoor exercises because they are practising sports, but this
benefits derived from indoor environments are logically the opposite as exercising in
outdoor environments. Factors that can consider a barrier to exercise in a kind of
environment can be the reason to incentivate the practise in different environments, for
example, bad weather (cold, rainy, windy…) can increase participation in indoor
activities and decrease the amount of leisure time that people expent in outdoor
environments (Hug et al., 2009).
1.3.2. Evidence of physical and psychological benefits in the practice of physical activities
in outdoor environments
The beginning of the restorative feeling reported by outdoor activities is the human
perception of a natural environment by the brain triggers positive psychological and
physiological reactions (Kaplan, 1995; Sternberg, 2009; Ulrich, 1983, via Mitchell, 2012).
There are some different effects between practising sport in natural and synthetic
environment. In the following variables: self-reported emotions (energy/revitalization,
tranquillity/calmness,
anxiety/tension,
anger/aggression,
fatigue/tiredness
and
sadness/depression), tests of attention, blood pressure and cortisol concentrations were
synthesized and the results of these investigations leave us evidence that sports in
nature environments will report more benefits than synthetic environments. It reduced
negative emotions such as anger, fatigue and sadness. There was a marginally positive
effect on energy scores, anxiety and tranquility and positive effect on test of attention as
well (Bowler et al., 2010). According with this statement, the outdoor exercise settings
had generally higher restorative quality than the indoor ones, becuase more
aesthetically pleasing environments might promote exercise. So these higher restorative
feelings improve the overall health status of the population (Hug et al., 2009).
Another strong example of the benefits of being outdoor was a survey conducted in eight
European cities in 2005, which concluded that people who live in areas with high levels
18
Impact of outdoor sports on health
of greenery are three times more likely to be physically active and 40% less likely to be
overweight or obese. Furthermore, outdoor activities reported more long-term
adherence than indoor activities, a good example of this statement is that 40-50% of
individuals terminate gym membership within a year of joining (Thompson Coon et al.,
2010).
Thompson Coon et al. (2010) compared the effects on mental and physical wellbeing,
health related quality of life of participation in physical activity depends on the location,
in natural environments compared with physical activity indoors. The authors assessed
833 people using different techniques: single short walk or run in an outdoor
environment and the same walk in a indoor environment on a separate location, indoor
walk with a virtual reality technology and, a survey. Also the chosen places for outdoor
trials were very varied, including university campus, sidewalks and walking paths
immediately surrounding buildings, forests and country parks (Thompson Coon et al.,
2010).
The results obtained in terms of walking showed, after seven studies, that outdoor walk
had a postive effect compared to indoor walk on some aspects of mood, revitalization,
self-esteem, positive engagement, and subjective vitality. Participants reported
increased feelings of energy, pleasure, and delight, and decreased feelings of frustration,
worry, confusion, depression, tension, and tiredness. Finally, participants reduced
feeling of calmness and tranquility, and expressed their intention to repeat the
exprience because of the enjoyment of the outdoor walk, so the level of adherence to
outdoor activities increased as well (Thompson Coon et al.,2010).
Three studies compared the effects between doing outdoor walks and indoor walks. In
two of them, there were no significant difference due the participants were competitive
runners, but in a study conducted by Harte et al. (1995, via Thompson Coon, 2010), it
was found that participants felt less anxious, depressed, angry and hostile and less
fatigued following the outdoor run (Thompson Coon et al., 2010).
Thompson Coon et al. (2010) conducted a survey that showed greater degree of mental
restoration following outdoor activity than indoor activity and a more positive attitude
to exercising outdoors.
19
Impact of outdoor sports on health
Recently, Mitchell (2012) also compared the mental benefits to participate in outdoor
activities compared to do it in other environments using data from the 2008 Scottish
Health Survey (SHS, a cross-sectional population health survey which gets the range of
behavioural, physiological and contextual information). For measured mental health via
a series of questions about respondent experiences in recent weeks (Goldberg &
Williams, 1991, via Mitchell, 2012), the author used the General Health Questionnaire
(GHQ) and for capture mental wellbeing (Tennant et al. 2007, via Mitchell, 2012), he
used the Warwick Edinburgh Mental health and Wellbeing Score (WEMWBS). The GHQ
asks the participants if they have experienced a particular feeling (problems with sleep,
inability to make decisions, lack of self-confidence and stressed) on a scale ranging from
“less than usual” to “more than usual”during the recent weeks. Regarding to the
WEMWBS survey, measured 14 statements related to wellbeing in the last two weeks
(e.g. “I have been feeling optimistic about the futuure“, or “I have been dealing with
problems well“), and participants were asked to indicated about the frecuency they had
this feelings on a scale from “None of the time“, to “All of the time“ (Mitchell, 2012).
The method used in this research was to analyze the SHS methods, that asked the
participants about “the time spent doing different types of physical activity“, and “the
places where this activities where located“ in the last four weeks. When SHS refers to
different types of physical activity, they are every different kind of activities which
requires physical effort (e.g., housework, walking, sport and manual work) and for
location, it was divided in the following list: (1) woodland / forest / tree covered park;
(2) open space / park; (3) country paths; (4) beach / sea shore / lake / river / canal; (5)
sport fields / outdoor courts; (6) swimming pool; (7) gym / sport centre; (8) pavements
/ streets; (9) home / garden; and (10) none of these places. So the SHS collect data of the
frequency the participants use each environment using the following scale: not used,
once in the last 4 weeks, 2 or 3 times in the last 4 weeks, one a week, 2 or 3 days a week,
4 or 6 days a week, and every day. GHQ model assessed a total of 1890 people and in the
case of WEMWBS was a total of 1860 people (Mitchell, 2012).
The research showed that the most common environment for physical activity along the
participants were local pavements / streets, followed by home / garden, and the 50% of
they used natual environments at least once in the last 4 weeks, actually the number of
contacts per week with any natural natural environment was 2.09, higher compared to
20
Impact of outdoor sports on health
non-natual environment, which was 1.54 contacts per week. Using at least once a week
natural environments (open space / park, wood / forest) compared not using these
environments, reported lower risk of high GHQ, which is an indicator of poor mental
health, so these people were at about half the risk of poor mental health of non-users. In
the other hand, less use of open space and regular use of synthetic environments (sport
pitch / outdoor courts, gym /sport centre) is related with higher levels of WEMWEBS,
due to use of synthetic environments are more associated to sport environments and the
practice of sport is significantly associated to wellbeing improvement. In conclusion,
natural environments can be used as therapy for poor mental health (Stigsdotter et al.,
2011, via Mitchell, 2012), and that studies suggest such environments are actively
sought by people facing stress or other problems (van den Berg, Hartig & Staast, 2007;
Grahn & Stigsdotter, 2003, via Mitchell, 2007).
21
Impact of outdoor sports on health
1.4. ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS OF OUTDOOR SPORTS
Live in a free pollution atmosphere is essential for human health, but in the last three
decades the world, especially in big cities, is suffering a big environment devaluation,
due to emission controls on vehicles, heating, power generation and industry (US EPA,
2000; Godish, 2003; Defra, 2003, via Curtis et al., 2006), and this progressive
devaluation is producing negative effects in groups of people who are especially
sensitive to outdoor air toxicants, such as asthmatics, atopic patients, patients with
emphysema and bronchitis, heart and stroke patients, diabetes, pregnant women, the
elderly and children (American Lung Association, 2005, via Curtis et al., 2006).
Curtis et al. (2006), in 2005, conducted a research of human health effects of outdoor air
pollutants by searching
Pub Med and other Medial databases. They studied the
influence of non-conducive environments in the following eight variables: respiratory
effects, cardiovascular system effects, cancer, reproductive and developmental effects,
neurological effects, mortality, infection and other health effects.
In terms of respiratory effects, higher outdoor air pollutant levels, such as particulates
ozone, sulfur, nitrogen oxides and carbon oxides revealed higher rates of asthma and
other respiratory problems. For cardiovascular system effects, outdoor air pollutants
increased the risk of heart problems, like cardiac mortality and morbidity. Four out of
five studies showed significally higher risk of lung cancer due to the exposure to high
outdoor levels of pollution (Vineis et al., 2004, via Curtis et al., 2006). Reproductive and
developmental problems, such as preterm births (Liu et al., 2003, via Curtis et al., 2006),
excess infant deaths (Loomis et al., 1999; Bobak & Leon, 1999, via Curtis et al., 2006),
and rates of congenital cardiacs defects, have been associated with higher exposure to
polluted environments. High levels of outdoor air pollution increased the risk of
neurological and neuropsychiatric effects, several stduies found higher rates of
schizophrenia (Pedersen et al., 2004, via Curtis et al., 2006), headaches in adults
(Nattero & Enrico, 1996, via Curtis et al., 2006) and poorer scores on neuropsychological
test for memory, concentration, balance, reaction time and cognitive functions (Kilburn
& Warshaw, 1995; Kilburn, 1999, via Curtis et al., 2006). In terms of mortality, higher
22
Impact of outdoor sports on health
exposure to polluted environments caused higher rates of mortality (Bunekreef &
Holgate, 2002, via Curtis, 2006), and lower rates of lifespan (Dockery et al., 1993; Pope
et al., 1995, via Curtis, 2006). It also have been found correlations between high
exposures to outdoor air pollutants (wood, coal or dung burning, living in poorly
ventilated buildings) and higher rates of respiratory infection. Finally, outdoor air
pollutants increased the likelihood of skin cancer, neuropathy and damage to the lungs
and kidneys (Liu et al., 2002; Pesch et al., 2002, via Curtis et al., 2006).
1.4.1. Skin problems derived from the exposure to outdoor environments
The most important risk factor for developing skin cancer, both melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer, is the UV radiation (UVR). For this reason, athletes have the
higher risk to contract skin cancer, due to the amount of hours they spent in outdoor
environments and the consequent exposure to the sun. For example, the practise of
tennis, sailing, and golf was associated with relatively high-UV exposure (Moehrle,
2008). So the most effective way to decrease the risk of skin cancer is reducing the time
to sun exposure (Mahé et al., 2011).
Moehrle (2008) conducted a research based on a review of previous studies about the
incidence of sun exposure time on the probability of getting cancer, obtaining enough
valid results.
First study assessed proffesional cyclists, runners and mountain guides. The average
daily personal UV exposure of proffesional cyclists in the Tour of Suisse were evaluated,
showing 20.3 SED (“standar erythema dose“, that is the standar amount of UVB that
produces redness 24 hours after exposure), it is considered a high UV exposure. A bit
higher was the average UV exposure of several runners who participated in the Ironman
Triathlon World Championships 1999 in Hawaii, it was an average of 20.8 SED. Finally,
mountain guides reported the highest average UV exposure of 29.8 SED. 283 mountain
guides from Austria, Switzerland, and Germany were examined on professionally sunexposed skin areas (head, neck, arms), obtaining high percentages of UV exposure and
compared to regular people percentage, they got some worrying results in precancerous
lession such as solar keratosis (25% vs 7%), and solar cheilitis (53% vs 12%). The
23
Impact of outdoor sports on health
principel risk factor for skin cancer was the severe lifetime sunburn due the exposure to
altitude and snow reflection (Moerhle, 2008).
From another study, the author got some interesting conclusions about the appearance
of cancer in outdoor sports. Overtraining and excesive exercise caused the supression of
the inmune function, because of repetitive tissue trauma sustained during intense
exercise, so this increased the risk of developing basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Skiers were
also assessed and the results showed an increased risk for the development of
squamous cell carcinoma, causing an increased risk of melanoma. The causes of this risk
increasement were almost the same as mountain guides, the exposure to altitude and
snow reflection. Finally, high sun exposure during childhood was associated with
significant risk increased in cutaneous melanoma (Moerhle, 2008).
In other research about influence of UV exposure on skin cancer, Mahé et al. (2011) took
the study reference of assessed the Teté Brulé which assessed 828 children (average age
between 8 and 10 years old), who were compiting in a football tournament. After three
weeks of evaluation, the results showed that children who took part in outdoor sports
had more melanocytic naevion their back. The contact with water, produced higher risk
of have basal cell carcinoma (BCC), and sweating reduced the effective of sunscreen, like
results proved by Moerhle (2008) that sweating during the practise of sports
contributed to UV-related skin damage as it increases the photosensitivity of the skin,
facilitating the risk of sunburns. Other significant results during the practise of sports
were that clothing worn provided incomplete protection to participants because the
designers care more about comfort than protective potential, sports tournaments are
usually taken place during peak exposure hours, and children who participate in
outdoor sports tended to spend more time outside than these others who don’t do it
(Mahé et al., 2011).
There have been discovered some data in this research, such as the reductive influence
in UV radiation dose received depending on the colour and size, and the range of UV
radiation depending on the angle of the horizontal ambient UV radiation and the solar
angle. Finally, the existence of clouds didn’t provide any protection against UV radiation
(Mahé et al., 2011).
24
Impact of outdoor sports on health
1.4.1.1.Solar protrections as a form of skin cancer prevention
As it is wellknown that outdoor exercise and the exposure to sun are, some authors of
different researches (Moehrle, 2008; Mahé et al., 2011) provided the society some
recommendations to prevent future skin cancer problems:
Mahé et al. (2008) recommended primarily to avoid the sun, wear sun protective
clothing and use sunscreen. For avoid the sun, the authors recommended to practice
sports in the shade or outside peak hours, for example, children should not practise
outdoor activities from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM in summer time. Finally, Mahé et al. (2008)
recommended children to wear sunscreen all day long while they are outside.
Moerhle (2008) made some recommendations that consist basically the same as
Moehrle et al. (2011) have said before, so the author bases sun protection on 3
principles: avoidance and shade, textil and hats, and use of sunscreen preparations.
25
Impact of outdoor sports on health
1.5. BENEFITS OF OUTDOOR EXERCISE ON CHILDREN
The habits of children in the last 10-20 years have changed considerably, traditional
games and time spent outside, are now changing into being inside, sitting in front of
their computers and spent the whole day on internet or playing computer games. This
current situation is producing adverse effects in the overall development of children,
such as increasing obesity in early childhood (Anderson et al., 1998, via Fjørtoft, 2001),
and motor problems in children (Due et al., 1991; Hertzberg, 1985; Gilberg &
Rasmussen, 1982; Kjos, 1992; Ropeid, 1997, via Fjørtoft, 2001).
Fjørtoft (2001) based in several authors, exposed some statements about the influence
of outdoor environments for the general welfare of children. Children’s creativity
improved when exercising in natural environments, the absence due to sickness was
lower in outdoor kindergartens (Grahn et al., 1997; Söderström, 1998, via Fjørtoft,
2001), and their motor ability showed higher improvements for children having a higher
exposure to natural environments (Fjørtoft, 1999; Grahn et al., 1997, via Fjørtoft, 2001).
In his own research, Fjørtoft (2001) assessed 75 children in different kind of
kindergartens. The reference group of 29 children was located in a neighboring district
kindergarten, which used their traditional outdoor playground for 1–2 hours a day and
visited natural sites only occasionally. On the other hand, the experimental group of 46
children was located in a kindergarten near the forest and used their natural resources
for play every day during 1-2 hours each day (Fjørtoft, 2001).
The main method used by the author for this research was the EUROFIT (European Test
of Physical Fitness), the Motor Fitness Test (Adam et al., 1988, via Fjørtoft, 2001),
consisting in the following items: (1) Flamingo balance test, which tests general balance
and the participants have to stand on one foot on a platform and the examiner counts
the number of falls in 60 seconds of balancing. (2) Plate tapping measures the speed of
limb movement and the participants have to tapp two plates alternatively with peferred
hand, as quickly as possible. (3) Sit and reach measures flexibility in knee and thigh
26
Impact of outdoor sports on health
joints. (4) Standing broad jump measures the explosive power of the legs and the
participants have to jump for distance from a standing start. (5) Sit-ups measures the
endurance of the abdominal and hip-flexor muscles and the examinator counts the
maximum number of sit-ups achievable in 30 seconds. (6) Bent arm hang measures
upper body relative strength and endurance in arm and shoulder, and the test consists
in maintaining a bent arm position while hanging from a bar. (7) Shuttle run measures
speed and agility and the participants have to run from the start to the opposite marker,
turn and return to the starting line, this is repeated five times without stopping. The
author added two tests for his research: Beam walking, for test dynamic balance, in
which the participants have to walk the entire length of the beam and back in 30
seconds. The second one, was the Indian skip, which measures cross coordination by
clapping right knee with left hand (Fjørtoft, 2001).
The results obtained with this study showed that the experimental group reported more
significant differences in all items between the pre-test and post-test than the reference
group. Thanks to the relation with natural environments were found some others
benefits, such as improvement of motor skills and coordination abilities (Fjørtoft, 2001).
According with these findings, the study conducted by Scholz & Krombholz (2007, via
Bowler et al., 2010), which compared the motor performance of children from 10 forest
kindergartens and from four ‘regular’ kindergartens, concluded that the motor
performance of the children from forest kindergartens was superior relative to children
from the regular kindergartens.
1.5.1. Different patologies and benefits of contact with outdoor environments for children
1.5.1.1. Myopia
Rose et al. (2008) conducted a study to assess the relationship of different activities,
such as near, midworking distance, and outdoor activities with prevalence of myopia in
school-aged children. Near work activities are considered these activities which require
higher visual effort (e.g., drawing, homeworks, reading, handheld computer use);
midworking distance activities are these activities which require high visual effort but
27
Impact of outdoor sports on health
less concentrated than near work activities (e.g. watching TV, playing videogames,
computer use); and outdoor activities are these activities practised in outdoor
environments (e.g. playing outdoors, family picnics and barbeques, bicycle riding, bush
walking and outdoor sports). The authors assessed the refraction and another eye
condition of 1765 children of 6 years old (group 1) and 2367 children of 12 years old
(group 2) from 2003 to 2005. The participants were subjected to a comprehensive eye
examination to determinate refractive status and classified by the following ethnic
groups: European Caucasian, East Asian, South Asia (Pakistani, Indian and Sri Lankan),
African, Polynesian, Middle Eastern, Indigenous Australian, and South American (Rose et
al., 2008).
Several benefits for outdoor environments exposure were found in this research. Less
myopia and more hyperopic mean refraction were found with more total time spent in
outdoor environments for both groups, group 1 (6 years old) and group 2 (12 years old),
and the participants who combined lower levels of near work and higher levels of
outdoor activities, obtained the most hyperopic mean. Finally, the assessed factors of
myopia were genetic contribution, kind of activity, and ethnicity. The participants whose
both parents were myopic, East Asian ethnic, and participated in more near work
activities, had the highest probability of being myopic (Rose et al., 2008).
1.5.1.2. Attention deficits in children
According to Barkley (1995, via Taylor & Kuo, 2009), children with attention deficits can
do the same work as other children, but the problem is that they can’t maintain the same
level of performance the way the most children can.
Taylor & Kuo (2009) conducted a study with 17 children aged between 7 and 12 years
old, diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hiperactivity Disorder). After children
completed a series of puzzles, they walked a 20-minute path in different environments
(urban park, downtown, and residential area) every time, supervised by guides. After
the walk, the children were driven back to an testing room, where the children
completed tests of concentration and impulse control and to assess the post-walk
impressions, if the path was fun, relaxing, interesting, scary, boring, weird, or
28
Impact of outdoor sports on health
uncomfortable. Children’s parents were also asked to complete a short survey to avoid
missing data and get some general information about the children (Taylor & Kuo, 2009).
In terms of concentration, the results showed that children exposed to a walk along the
park, obtained significantly better ranges of concentration after the path, and the effects
lasted at least long enough for parents to have noticed them. The authors discovered
that the park walk had roughly the same effect to the peak of two ADHD medications, so
they suggested the use of natural environments as a mean of enhance attention in
children with ADHD, against the use of medicaments. Finally, the authors adviced
schools about some future implications that will help to the improvement of attetion in
children, they suggested that schools might include more natural elements in their
schoolyards (trees, open lawns, gardens), and included more physical education classes,
and environmentally based lessons (Taylor & Kuo, 2009).
29
Impact of outdoor sports on health
2. SUMMARY
DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION OF OUTDOOR SPORTS
Outdoor sports are considered every sport that is usually practice in a wild or semi-wild
area. Outdoor sports are usually practiced in our leisure time and the main place to
practice them is in a nature or semi-nature area, but it is possible to practice them in an
urban area as well (Acuña, 1991).
Several authors have classified them:
Acuña (1991) for instance, focused in his classification of outdoor sports upon the
environment and techniques we can use while doing it: promotional activities, free
activities and organized activities.
Funollet (1995) focused in his classification of outdoor sports upon the practicing,
material, and practice space.
Aguado (2001) focused in his classification of outdoor sports upon the environment
where the activities are practiced: non-specific activities, specific activities and
complementary activities.
Sánchez Igual (2005) focused in his classification of outdoor sports upon the surface
where it’s practiced: mountain, water and air.
THE IMPACT OF OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES ON HEALTH
At present, more than half of the world’s population live in urban environments and
don’t have too much contact with nature, so some of the substantial mental health
challenges facing society and physical challenges arising from modern diets and
sedentary lifestyles could be addressed by increased forms of activity in green places
(Barton & Pretty, 2010). So the frequent practice of sport in natural environments can
improve health status of the population because just to have contact with green spaces
can be psychologically and physiologically restorative, reducing blood pressure and
stress levels (Mitchell & Popham, 2008). According to Yamaguchi (2006) the aroma of
the plants, temperature, humidity, light intensity, wind, oxygen concentration and
exercise performs within this environment can improve the quality of life of people.
30
Impact of outdoor sports on health
HEALTH BENEFIT COMPARATIVE BETWEEN OUTDOOR AND INDOOR SPORTS
Outdoor exercise settings had generally higher restorative quality than the indoor ones,
because more aesthetically pleasing environments might promote exercise. So these
higher restorative feelings improve the overall health status of the population (Hug et
al., 2009). For example, people who live in areas with high levels of greenery are three
times more likely to be physically active and 40% less likely to be overweight or obese.
Furthermore, outdoor activities reported more long-term adherence than indoor
activities (Thompson Coon et al., 2010).
ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS OF OUTDOOR SPORTS
Live in a free pollution atmosphere is essential for human health, but in the last three
decades the world, especially in big cities, is suffering a big environment devaluation,
due to emission controls on vehicles, heating, power generation and industry and this
progressive devaluation is producing negative effects in groups of people who are
especially sensitive to outdoor air toxicants (Curtis et al., 2006). Excessive sun exposure
due overtraining and excessive exercise caused negative health effects due the
suppression of the immune function, because of repetitive tissue trauma sustained
during intense exercise, so this increased the risk of developing skin cancer (Moerhle,
2008).
BENEFITS OF OUTDOOR EXERCISE ON CHILDREN
The habits of children in the last 10-20 years have changed considerably, traditional
games and time spent outside, are now changing into being inside, sitting in front of
their computers and spent the whole day on internet or playing computer games
(Fjørtoft, 2001). It’s very important to engage children with nature from early ages,
because that contact will make them improved their creativity; and it is also proved that
the absence due to sickness is lower in outdoor kindergartens and their motor ability
show higher improvements for children having a higher exposure to natural
environments (Fjørtoft, 2001).
31
Impact of outdoor sports on health
3. REFERENCES
Acuña A. Manual didáctico de actividades en la naturaleza, Ed. Wanceulen, Sevilla, 1991.
Aguado, A. Actividades físicas en el Medio Natural en la Educación Física Escolar, 2001,4.
Barton J. and Pretty J., What is the best dose of nature and green exercise for improving
mental health? A multi-study analysis, Environmental Science & Technology, 2010, 44,
3947-3955.
Bowler D.E., Buyung-Ali L.M., Knight T.M., Pullin A.S. A systematic review of evidence for
the added benefits to health of exposure to natural environments, BMC Public Health,
2010, 456 (10), 2-10.
Curtis L., Rea W., Smith-Willis P., Fenyves E., Pan Y. Adverse health effects of outdoor air
pollutants, Environment International, 2006, 32, 815-830.
Fjørtof I. The Natural Environment as a Playground for Children: The Impact of Outdoor
Play Activities in Pre-Primary School Children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 2001,
29(2), 111-117.
Funollet F. Propuesta de clasificación de las actividades deportivas en el medio natural,
Educación Física y Deporte, 1995, 41, 124-129.
Hug S.M., Hartig T., Hansmann R., Seeland K., Hornung R. Restorative qualities of indoor
and outdoor exercise settings as predictors of exercise frequency, Health & Place,
2009,15, 971-980.
Mahé E., Beauchet A., Corrêa M.P., Godin-Beekmann S., Haeffelin M., Bruant S., FayChatelard F., Jégou F., Saiag P., Aegerter P.
Outdoor sports and risk of ultraviolet
radiation-related skin lesions in children: evaluation of risks and prevention, British
Journal of Dermatology, 2011, 165, 360-367.
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Impact of outdoor sports on health
Mackay G.J. and Neill J.T. The effect of “green exercise” on state anxiety and the role of
exercise duration, intensity, and greenness: A quasi-experimental study, Psychology of
Sport and Exercise, 2010, 11, 238-245.
Mejia R. Green exercise may be good for your head, Environmental Science &
Technology, 2010, 3649.
Moehrle M. Outdoor sports and skin cancer, Clinics in Dermatology, 2008, 26 (1), 12–15.
Mitchell R. Is physical activity in natural environments better for mental health
than physical activity in other environments?, Social Science & Medicine, 2012, 1-5.
Mitchell R. and Popham F. Effect of exposure to natural environment on health
inequalities: an observational population study, Lancet, 2008, 372, 1655-1660.
Pretty J. How nature contributes to mental and physical health, Spirituality and Health
International, 2004, 5 (2), 68–78.
Ryan R.M., Weinstein N., Bernstein J., Brown K.W., Mistretta L., Gagné M. Vitalizing effects
of being outdoors and in nature, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2010, 30, 159168.
Rose K. A. , Morgan G. I. , Ip J. , Kifley A. , Huynh S. , Smith W. , Mitchell P. Outdoor Activity
Reduces the Prevalence of Myopia in Children, Ophthalmology, 2008, 115 (8), 12781285.
Sanchez Igual J.E. Actividades en el medio natural y Educación Física, Ed. Wanceulen,
Sevilla, 2005.
Taylor A.F. and Kuo F.E. Children with attention deficits concentrate better after walk in
the park, Journal of Attention Disorders, 2009, 12 (5), 402-409.
Thompson Coon J., Boddy K., Stein K., Whear R., Barton J., Depledge M.H. Does
Participating in Physical Activity in Outdoor Natural Environments Have a Greater Effect
on Physical and Mental Wellbeing than Physical Activity Indoors? A Systematic Review,
Environmental Science & Technology, 2011, 45, 1761-1772.
33
Impact of outdoor sports on health
Yamaguchi M., Deguchi M., Miyazaki Y. The effect of exercise in forest and urban
environments on sympathetic nervous activity of normal young adults, Journal of
International Medical Research, 2006, 34, 152-159.
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Impact of outdoor sports on health
4. RESÜMEE
VÄLISPORDI MÕJU TERVISELE
VÄLISPORDI DEFINITSIOON JA KLASSIFIKATSIOON
Välispordiks peetakse igat spordiala, mida tavaliselt harrastatakse vabas õhus. Seda
harrastatakse tavaliselt vabal ajal ja looduses, kuid selle harrastamine on võimalik ka
linnas. (Acuña, 1991).
Mitmed autorid on välisporti klassifitseerinud järgmiselt:
Acuña (1991) näiteks keskendub oma välispordi klassifikatsioonis keskkonnale ja
tehnikale, mida me kasutame seda harrastades: propageeriv-, vaba-, ning organiseeritud
tegevus.
Funollet (1995) keskendub oma väilspordi klassifikatsioonis tegevusele, materjalile ning
kohale.
Aguado(2001) keskendub oma välispordi klassifikatsioonis keskkonnale, kus seda
harrastatakse: mittespetsiifilised-, spetsiifilised-, ning vabad alad.
Sánchez Igual (2005) keskendub oma välispordi klassifikatsioonis pinnasele, kus seda
harrastatkse: mäed, vesi ja õhk.
VÄLISPORDIALADE MÕJU TERVISELE
Pregusel ajal elab enam kui pool maakera elanikkonnast linnades ning neil puudub tihti
kontakt
loodusega,
sellega
seondub
enamus
põhilisi
psüühilisi
ja
füüsilisi
terviseprobleeme, mis juurduvad nüüdiaja toitumises ja istuvas eluviisis, kuid mida on
võimalik ennetada, kui suurendada tegevuste hulka roheluses (Barton & Pretty, 2010).
Seega, tihe spordiharrastamine looduses parandab elanikkonna tervist, juba ainult
roheluses viibimine on psüühiliselt ja füüsiliselt taastava iseloomuga ning alandab
vererõhku ning stress (Mitchell & Popham, 2008). Yamaguchi (2006) arvab, et taimede
lõhn, temperatuur, niiskus, valguse intensiivsus, tuul, hapniku sisaldus õhus ja sport
antud keskkonnas tõstab inimeste elukvaliteeti.
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Impact of outdoor sports on health
VÄLI- JA SISESPORDI MÕJU TERVISELE
Oma iseloomult on välisport taastavama mõjuga tervisele kui sisesport, kuna väispordi
esteetiline väärtus mõjutab rohekm selle harrastamist.
Seega kõrgema taastumisvõimega kaasnevad tunded parandavad üleüldist elanikkonna
tervislikku seisukorda (Hug et al., 2009). Näiteks inimesed, kes elavad kohas, kus on
rohkem rohelust, on kolm korda suurema tõenäosega füüsiliselt aktiivsemad ja 40%
väiksema tõenäosusega ülekaalulised. Lisaks on välisport suurem pikaajalise harjumuse
tekitaja, kui sisesportialad (Thompson Coon et al., 2010).
VÄLISPORDI KAHJULIK MÕJU TERVISELE
Elu saastamata keskkonnas on inimese tervisele oluline, aga viimase kolme kümnendi
jooksul maailmas, eriti suurtes linnades, on see läinud allakäiguteed. Seda tänu
heitgaasidele, küttele, energiatootmisele ja tööstusele – selline pidev allakäigutee
mõjutab halvasti inimesi, kes on tundlikud õhusaastatuse suhtes (Curtis et al., 2006).
Liigne päikese käes viibimine ja ületreening mõjutavad negatiivselt immuunsüsteemi,
kuna korduv kudede trauma intensiivse treeningu ajal suurendab nähavähi tekkimise
riski (Moerhle, 2008).
VÄLISPORDI KASU LASTELE
Viimase 10-20 aasta jooksul on laste harjumused suuresti muutunud – varasem rohke
vabas õhus viibimine on asendudnud istumisega sees laua taga terve päeva arvutimänge
mängides või internestis viibides (Fjørtoft, 2001). Väga oluline on lapsi harjutada
loodusega juba varasest east – see arendab loomingulisust ning haiguse tõttu
puudumine on väiksem lastel, kes käivad välilasteaedades ning nende laste motoorne
areng on kõrgema tasemegea, kes viibivad rohkem looduslikus keskkonnas (Fjørtoft,
2001).
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